Change Task Start or Finish Dates

When you change the start and finish dates for a task on the Schedule tab, the dates automatically update on the Labor, Expense, Consultant, and Unit Planning tabs.

Deltek recommends that you schedule all task dates and associated dependencies before assigning resources to the tasks.

To change the start and/or finish dates on a task, complete the following steps:

  1. From the Vision Navigation menu, click Planning > Project Planning and click the Schedule tab. You can change the dates on the Labor tab, the Schedule Planning grid, or the interactive Gantt chart.

    If you change the dates on the Labor tab, you must check that the Start and Finish dates of the parent WBS level are in alignment with the start and end dates of its child WBS level task. If they are not, use the Collapse Parent Dates option to force the parent WBS level dates to adjust to match the start and end dates of the child WBS level. See the Labor tab of Project Planning online help topic for more information.

  2. To change the dates on the Schedule Planning grid, locate the task and click twice in the Start or Finish date cell to activate the date, then complete one of the following actions to change the start or finish date:
    • Enter a date directly in the field, following the established date format.
    • Click the drop-down arrow to open the Calendar dialog box of the Schedule tab. You can select a date from the current calendar, use the right and left arrows to scroll through the months and select a different date, or click the calendar heading to change the view and locate the desired date.

    The cell changes from gray to white to indicate it is in an editable state. You can only change task dates on this grid.

    After you click off the date field, the green bar shifts on the interactive Gantt chart so that it starts and/or finishes on the specified date. The parent/group level and associated black bracket will update accordingly. You cannot enter or select a date that is earlier than the first date in the plan's calendar.

  3. To change the dates directly on the interactive Gantt chart for tasks without assigned resources, select the item on the chart and complete one of the following actions:
    Option Description
    To change the dates but keep the same duration. Drag and drop the entire black group bracket or green task bar to a new location on the interactive Gantt chart.
    To change the start or finish dates and thus change both the dates and duration Drag the beginning or the end of the green task bar on the interactive Gantt chart. The black group bracket updates accordingly.
    After you release the left mouse click for the associated black group bracket or green task bar, the task's Start and/or Finish date fields in the Schedule Planning grid adjust to display the newly specified date. The dates on the Labor, Expense, Consultant, and Unit Planning tabs also adjust. You cannot move the task item to a date that is earlier than the first date in the plan's accordion calendar.
  4. If the task has assigned resources, you changed the task dates directly on the interactive Gantt chart, and the resource dates shifted as a result, complete one of the following actions
    Option Description
    To change the task and resource assignment dates. Drag and drop the entire green task bar on the interactive Gantt chart. All task and resource data shifts accordingly, and if the row is the parent of other rows or contains dependent successor tasks, all child data also shifts.
    To change the start date of the task. Drag the beginning of the green task bar on the interactive Gantt chart. The task start date updates on the Labor tab and the resources shift.
    To change the end date of the task. Drag the end of the green task bar on the interactive Gantt chart:
    • If you change the date to a later time (push it out), the task's end date updates on the Labor tab and the resource dates shift.
    • If you change the end date to an earlier time, the task's end date updates on the Labor tab but the resource dates do not shift.